Sapporo Snow Festival 2027: dates, sites and getting there

The 2027 dates: 4 to 11 February, with the details due in December

The 77th Sapporo Snow Festival runs for eight days, from Thursday 4 to Thursday 11 February 2027, at the Odori site (Odori Park from West 1-chome to West 11-chome), the Tsudome site (the city's Community Dome sports hall) and the Susukino site (Ekimae-dori between Minami 4-jo and Minami 6-jo). A separate linked event, Sapporo Snow Sports Park 2027, follows at the Daiwa House Premist Dome from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 February.

The last day, 11 February, is National Foundation Day, a national holiday, so the festival covers one weekend (6–7 February) and one holiday. The 2027 programme and prices are due from mid-December 2026; the examples below are from 2026. Our Japan festivals calendar sets the festival against the rest of the year.

Before, during and after: how the festival week runs

The sculptures take about a month to make. Snow is trucked in from 7 January from sites around the city such as Moerenuma Park and Hoheikyo Dam, and the large Odori sculptures are built by teams from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and a civic production committee: frames go up in late December, snow is packed into them in early January, and the carving is finished just before the opening. Odori and Tsudome cannot be entered before the festival starts. In Susukino, the ice carving begins about three days before, and you can watch the finishing work on the eve of the festival.

Once it opens, the festival closes nothing: Odori Park and the Susukino street can be visited at any hour, and Tsudome opens 10:00–16:00. At Tsudome in 2026, tickets for the tube slide were handed out on weekends and holidays because of the queues. On the last night, 11 February, Susukino's lights go off an hour early, at 22:00.

Odori Park: five big sculptures and a 1.1 km walk

The main site fills Odori Park for about 1.1 km, from West 1-chome by the TV Tower to West 11-chome. The 2027 plan puts the five large snow sculptures, the festival's signature pieces, at 4-, 5-, 7-, 8- and 10-chome, with medium and small sculptures at 3-, 6- and 9-chome, winter attractions at 1-chome, the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027 at 2-chome and the International Snow Sculpture Contest at 11-chome, where you can watch teams from abroad at work during the festival. The sculptures are lit until 22:00.

To give a sense of scale: in 2026 the Odori site had 136 snow and ice sculptures, among them a Star Wars sculpture, a Hokkaido University lecture hall and Aizu's Tsuruga Castle, one large sculpture carried projection mapping after dark, and residents' groups made about 80 humorous citizens' sculptures at 2- and 9-chome. Walk the park in daylight to see the carving, then come back after dinner for the lights. From the observation deck of the Sapporo TV Tower, about 90 m up at the park's eastern end, the city's tourism site says you get the best view of the festival.

Odori Station, where the Namboku, Tozai and Toho subway lines meet, is right at the park. Our Sapporo guide covers the city beyond the festival, from the Clock Tower beside the park to Nijo Market a few blocks east.

Susukino: ice sculptures under the neon

South of Odori, the Susukino site lines Ekimae-dori, the main avenue through Sapporo's entertainment district, between Minami 4-jo and Minami 6-jo. Here the material is ice rather than snow. In 2026 there were 60 ice sculptures, including blocks with fish frozen inside, a giant showpiece at the start of the route and the works of an ice-carving contest by carvers from around Japan. About 200 chefs and ice carvers work through three nights to make them, and they carve best when it is colder than −10°C.

The ice is lit until 23:00, or 22:00 on the last night, so this is the site to save for after dinner, when the ice glows against the neon. Susukino Station on the Namboku Line, south of Odori, is right at the site.

Tsudome: the snow playground for families

Tsudome, the Sapporo Community Dome in Higashi-ku, is where the festival turns into play: snow slides, sledging and games outside, and an indoor arena with more attractions and stalls selling hot Hokkaido food. It is open 10:00–16:00, and some attractions may stop taking people early when it is busy. In 2026 the outdoor area had a tube slide for children from age four, a family tube slide, a sledging slope with sleds to borrow, a snow maze and snow rafting behind a snowmobile (¥1,200 for adults, ¥600 for primary-school age and under), and the indoor Kids Park sold points at ¥130 each, ¥1,300 for 11. You need a hat and gloves to use the attractions.

Take the Toho subway line to Sakaemachi, then the festival shuttle bus or walk for about 15 minutes. There is no public car park and no drop-off point. The 2026 rules banned drones, balloons, pets other than assistance dogs and smoking anywhere on the site. Without children, Tsudome is easy to skip; with them, give it a morning and come back into town for Odori after dark.

What is free, what costs money and what stays open

Entry to all three sites is free, and Odori and Susukino are open streets and parkland, not ticketed grounds. The costs are the extras. In 2026 the skating rink at Odori 3-chome charged adults ¥2,500 in advance or ¥3,000 on the day, including skate hire; Tsudome's snow rafting and Kids Park were paid; the rest of the walk-through sites cost nothing.

Getting between the sites is cheapest with a subway day pass from the city's transport bureau: the One-Day Ticket costs ¥830 for adults and ¥420 for children, and the Donichika weekend and holiday pass costs ¥520 and ¥260. In festival week the Donichika is valid on Saturday 6, Sunday 7 and Thursday 11 February. IC cards such as Suica and Kitaca work on the subway too.

Getting there: New Chitose, the airport train and your room

Fly into New Chitose Airport; JR's station is directly below the terminal. JR Hokkaido runs six Airport trains an hour between 09:00 and 16:00. The fastest is the Special Rapid Airport, 33 minutes to Sapporo, then the Rapid Airport at 37; across the whole current timetable, Airport trains take 33 to 44 minutes. The adult fare is ¥1,230. A reserved u-seat in car 4 costs ¥1,000 extra, or ¥800 as a ticketless seat, and JR warns that unreserved seats may be full and that ticket machines can be crowded at busy times, so tap through with an IC card. Buses from Odori Park to the airport take about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Rooms are the part to book first: JNTO advises reserving accommodation early because of the crowds. Three nights around Odori or Sapporo Station cover the festival and an evening in Otaru. Our Sapporo guide compares the areas: Odori puts you above the main site, Sapporo Station suits early trains to the airport and Otaru, and Susukino keeps the ice sculptures a few minutes from your door.

Cold, ice and how to walk on it

Dress for hours outside. Wear layered shirts and sweaters under a proper winter coat, with a hat, ear warmers and gloves: buildings and trains are well heated, so layers you can take off are easier than one heavy garment. The city's tourism site gives February an average temperature of −3.1°C and recommends snow boots or shoes with non-slip soles.

Pavements are often frozen. Put your whole sole down and take small steps (the city suggests walking like a penguin), and remember that fresh snow can hide ice underneath. If your shoes are smooth-soled, slip-on grips cost about ¥1,000–2,000 in central convenience stores and shoe shops, and the festival's official shop at the Odori site sells them too and lends walking sticks free of charge. At Odori, volunteers from a local non-profit help visitors who need assistance.

Otaru, Asahikawa and the days around the festival

Two neighbouring festivals overlap with Sapporo's; both will publish their programmes nearer the time. Otaru Snow Light Path runs from Saturday 6 to Saturday 13 February 2027, when candlelight fills the snowy streets of the old port town. Otaru is 32 minutes from Sapporo by the fastest train, for ¥800, so an evening there fits into a festival stay. The 68th Asahikawa Winter Festival runs from Saturday 6 to Thursday 11 February 2027; our Hokkaido in 7 days route covers the train north to Asahikawa.

If you are combining the festival with skiing, come for the festival days first and head to the mountains afterwards; our Niseko guide explains the change of trains at Otaru. Those who stay on after 11 February can catch the Snow Sports Park at the Premist Dome from 12 to 14 February.